Solidarity
by clinicalyInsane
Summary: Alphonse has a heart-to-heart with someone who knows how it feels. '"I don't think I'm a boy. Or a girl. I think I'm like you.' (Crossposted on AO3)


Takes place about a year to year-and-a-half post promised day.

* * *

Alphonse Elric wasn't entirely sure when he stopped being entirely comfortable with being, well, _him._ It had crept up without him even noticing, possibly over the course of years. Al didn't quite know what to do. Usually he could just head into the nearest city and head to the library, but that would require having at least a vague idea of the problem. Currently, the nearest city was Central. And that... That might actually be useful. After a lot if careful thought, Al came to the conclusion that there was only really one person he was sure would know something about this. And thankfully, that one person was in Central.

It was that same person who'd first brought it to Al's attention that there were, in fact, other options than just male and female – a conversation that Al now realised must have been incredibly daunting for them, given the rush of emotions he was currently feeling. So, in the end, he decided to go and see them.

Them, in this case, being Colonel Luca Argyris. Al and his brother had first met the Colonel immediately after performing the human transmutation. They'd been at the Rockbells' to pick up new automail. This meeting was one that neither Al nor Ed would fully remember until their next meeting, four years later in Central City in the middle of the Freezer Case, back when they'd still been a Major. A great deal had happened since then, and Al had only really had a chance to get to know them in the aftermath of the so-called 'Promised Day' (when both were stuck in the hospital recuperating from their injuries), unlike Ed, who had spent a couple of months with them after the incident at Fort Briggs.

They'd become an even greater ally for Al in particular in recent years, once he'd decided to go to Xing and, while there, learn Alkahestry. They'd given him a solid foundation in both that and the main dialect before deciding to accompany him, Jerso and Zampano on their first trip across the desert. As it turned out, they knew the desert well enough to act as a guide, and they "needed to go to Xing anyway", a claim that Al didn't bother trying to refute, as it was technically true.

Once Al reached Central, he headed for the Command Centre. He was greeted at the entrance by Scheska, who was now a Corporal (Al had yet to figure out the logistics of _that_).

"I take it the Colonel knew I was coming?"

"You did call ahead, Alphonse," Sheska said, hugging him.

"Yes, but even I didn't know _when_ I'd be arriving."

Scheska shrugged.

"When, or more likely _if_, I figure out how the Colonel does it I'll probably get a promotion."

Al laughed.

"Well, lead on, Corporal Gajos."

"Sure thing, Mr Elric," she replied, with a hint of sarcasm. Al couldn't be sure if the amount of influence Colonel Argyris had clearly had was necessarily a good thing, but it definitely was good to see how much her confidence had grown.

When they reached the office, Scheska knocked on the open doorframe and announced their presence.

"Alphonse is here, sir."

Luca ("Al, please, call me Luca, you're basically family at this point.") looked up from their desk and grinned. (And yes, there was a difference between 'Colonel Argyris' and 'Luca'. Al just hadn't quite figured out where the line lay yet.)

"I know. Hi, Al, good to see you. C'mon in."

Al did, closing the door behind him.

"So, what brings you here, kid?"

Al fidgeted with his hands for a bit before answering. It wasn't that he didn't know what to say, he had, in fact, planned the whole thing before coming, it was just that he was, understandably, fairly nervous.

"Uh, personal question. You're the only person I know can help."

Luca nodded slowly, setting down the pen. They got up and joined Al on the small sofa Al had chosen to sit on.

"Go on?"

"I, uh, how did you know? That you, uh, weren't, uh..."

"A girl?"

"Yeah."

"I'm not really sure, to be honest. It was more of an acceptable thing in my- where I grew up, so I knew it was an option, at least, from fairly young... I think I was probably about fourteen, maybe? But I didn't really decide what I _was_ until I was seventeen. I guess..." They sighed. "I realised I was super uncomfortable being referred to by feminine terms first. Then I realised I didn't particularly care for masculine terms either. I didn't even settle on neutral pronouns until I heard someone use them for me because I looked androgynous from a distance, and it felt _right_, I guess."

Throughout that, they didn't look directly at Al. Not until right at the very end, when they slid their eyes over to meet his.

"Did that help?"

Al nodded.

"Yeah. Yeah, that helped. I think..." He paused. _They_ paused. "I don't think I'm a boy. Or a girl. I think I'm like you. And I think I want to use neutral pronouns. At least… At least with people I trust enough to tell."

Luca was giving Al a soft smile, lips barely upturned, but with their warm red eyes crinkled at the edges – a small but heart-warmingly genuine expression.

"If that's what you want. Who else do you want to tell?"

"Ed," Al replied immediately. "Winry and Mei. Them first. Then..." They sighed.

"You shouldn't feel obliged to tell anyone, Al," Luca said. "Take it at your own pace. Hell, I only told my own parents this year. You've got time to figure everything out."

Al nodded, then, without warning, grabbed Luca and hugged them. They made a token noise of protest that was distorted by the wind rushing out of them, and patted Al on the back. Luca's hair tickled their forehead. Despite Al's own growth spurt, they were still not as tall as Luca. (They were taller than Ed, though.)

"Let me take you somewhere for lunch, kid," they said, gloved hand resting on Al's back. "My treat."

Al finally let go and gave Luca a wide, beaming grin, which was returned with one of the Colonel's trademark smirks.

"Sounds great!"

As they were leaving Al waved to the occupants of the main office (now the Head Investigations Office, rather than the only one): Major Germund Fokker, First Lieutenant Ravi Orellana Warrant Officer Teresa Fazekas and Corporal Scheska Gajos. They waved back, and the last thing they heard as the door shut behind the two alchemists was,

"So what's this I've heard about _another_ upcoming promotion?"

* * *

Thanks for reading! This includes An Amount of projecting


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